DJ Wonnum has spent training camp doing exactly what the Lions seem to want from him: showing up, staying steady and avoiding the kind of noise that tends to follow flashier edge rushers.
That has not gone unnoticed in Detroit. On Monday, Dan Campbell described the six-year veteran as a player whose work has been consistent and dependable from the start of camp.
“I mean this is a very good way: it’s been kind of a quiet, just steady training camp for him,” Campbell said. “I think he’s come in and just done his job.
I think he’s been very consistent with what we’ve asked him to do. There’s nothing flashy about it, but he’s a crafty, sneaky, smart veteran football player that understands how to play the run, understands-he’s got some slipperiness as a rusher.”
That kind of profile fits the way Wonnum built his reputation before arriving in Detroit. He first drew attention with the Vikings as a rotational player, and while his game was never built around highlight-reel moments, he carved out a role by producing 20 sacks between 2021-23, helping on special teams and becoming a dependable run defender.
Campbell said the Lions saw that same kind of worker when Wonnum joined the team this offseason.
“I just remember when he came in, he was one of those guys,” Campbell said. “He’s a lunch-pail guy that’s going to give everything that he’s got, and he plays a smart brand of football, and I love that about him.”
For Detroit, the appeal goes beyond simply having another capable lineman. The Lions have been searching for someone to line up opposite Aidan Hutchinson, someone who can set the edge against the run and still threaten quarterbacks enough to keep offenses from loading up on Hutchinson every snap.
“I think he’s going to complement Hutch very well on the other side,” Campbell said of Wonnum. “So, I think he’s exactly what I expected to get here to this point.”
Wonnum is part of a deeper plan up front, too. Detroit used a second-round pick on Michigan defensive end Derrick Moore this year, and he has shown flashes at camp despite dealing with injuries. The Lions also expect a healthy Alim McNeill to make life harder for offenses in the middle, while the rest of the line includes Tyleik Williams, Levi Onwuzurike, Ahmed Hassanein and Skyler Gill-Howard, among others.
The numbers from last season suggest there’s still room to grow. Detroit tied for fourth in sacks with 49, but NFL Pro had the Lions 30th in time to pressure at 2.86 seconds, and they got there while blitzing at the ninth-highest rate in the league.
The Lions still want to stay rooted in their “stop the run first” identity, but Wonnum gives them a chance to keep that approach without sacrificing pressure off the edge. Detroit is counting on him to handle his end of the bargain in the run game and bring real pass-rushing help opposite Hutchinson.
In Other News...
Lions Super Bowl Hopes May Come Down To One Early Concern
Health is already shaping up to be one of the biggest storylines around Detroit as the 2026 season approaches, and the concerns start in the middle of the field. Center Evan Mays is expected to be a major part of the offense once he gets past a wrist injury, while the Lions are also watching the progress of defensive lineman McNeill, whose return from an ACL injury will matter for a front that wants to play with force again.
The same goes for safety Brian Branch and tight end Sam LaPorta, two players whose availability and level of play could swing the teams ceiling in very different ways. Branch is working back from an Achilles injury, and LaPorta is coming off a herniated disk and hip injury, so Detroits Super Bowl hopes may depend less on adding new pieces than on getting key ones back to something close to themselves at the right time. [Read more 🡒]
Lions Rookies Suddenly Carry More Weight Than Detroit Expected
The Lions went into the summer expecting their rookie class to help in spots, but training camp and preseason have pushed that group into a more meaningful conversation. Blake Miller, Derrick Moore, Jimmy Rolder, Keith Abney II and Skyler Gill-Howard all showed up in the discussion for different reasons, whether it was fit, opportunity or the simple reality that Detroit may need more from its first-year players than planned.
Injuries have only sharpened that need, even as the roster is still taking shape and the projections remain tentative. For a team with bigger ambitions than mere depth-chart survival, the question is no longer whether those rookies can fill out the back end of the roster, but how quickly they can be trusted if the Lions need them early and often. [Read more 🡒]
Dan Campbell Just Made Detroits Backup RB Battle A Lot Murkier
The picture behind Jahmyr Gibbs is getting less straightforward in Detroit, and thats exactly the kind of depth-chart wrinkle Dan Campbell seems comfortable with. Campbell said the Lions plan to handle the backup running back spot with a committee, putting Jacob Saylors and 2024 fourth-round pick Sione Vaki into the mix as the team sorts out its next layer of backfield roles.
Both players have a path to helping in more than one way, which matters in a Lions system that values versatility as much as carry count. Saylors brings more NFL experience, while Vaki has spent most of his pro time on special teams as he makes the transition from safety to running back, and Campbell made it clear the job will extend beyond just running the ball as those two sort out duties as runners, pass protectors and receivers. [Read more 🡒]